Disposable syringes are in widespread use for a number of different types of applications. For example, syringes are used not only to withdraw a fluid (e.g., blood) from a patient but also to administer a medication to a patient. In the latter, a cap or the like is removed from the syringe and a unit dose of the medication is carefully measured and then injected or otherwise disposed within the syringe.
As technology advances, more and more sophisticated, automated systems are being developed for preparing and delivering medications by integrating a number of different stations, with one or more specific tasks being performed at each station. For example, one type of exemplary automated system operates as a syringe filling apparatus that receives user inputted information, such as the type of medication, the volume of the medication and any mixing instructions, etc. The system then uses this inputted information to disperse the correct medication into the syringe up to the inputted volume.
In some instances, the medication that is to be delivered to the patient includes more than one pharmaceutical substance. For example, the medication can be a mixture of several components, such as several pharmaceutical substances.
By automating the medication preparation process, increased production and efficiency are achieved. This results in reduced production costs and also permits the system to operate over any time period of a given day with only limited operator intervention for manual inspection to ensure proper operation is being achieved. Such a system finds particular utility in settings, such as large hospitals, that require a large number of doses of medications to be prepared daily. Traditionally, these doses have been prepared manually in what is an exacting but tedious responsibility for a highly skilled staff. In order to be valuable, automated systems must maintain the exacting standards set by medical regulatory bodies, while at the same time simplifying the overall process and reducing the time necessary for preparing the medications.
Because syringes are often used as the carrier means for transporting and delivering the medication to the patient, it is advantageous for these automated systems to be tailored to accept syringes. However, the previous methods of dispersing the medication from the vial and into the syringe were very time consuming and labor intensive. More specifically, medications and the like are typically stored in a vial that is sealed with a safety cap or the like. In conventional medication preparation, a trained person retrieves the correct vial from a storage cabinet or the like, confirms the contents and then removes the safety cap manually. This is typically done by simply popping the safety cap off with ones hands. Once the safety cap is removed, the trained person inspects the integrity of the membrane and cleans the membrane. An instrument, e.g., a needle, is then used to pierce the membrane and withdraw the medication contained in the vial. The withdrawn medication is then placed into a syringe to permit subsequent administration of the medication from the syringe.
Typically, the medication is placed in the syringe when the needle is in place and secured to the barrel tip by drawing the medication through the needle and into the syringe barrel. Such an arrangement makes it very difficult for this type of syringe to be used in an automated system due to the fact that medication is drawn through the small needle into the syringe barrel and therefore this operation is a very time and labor intensive task. What is needed in the art and has heretofore not been available is a system and method for automating the medication preparation process and more specifically, an automated system and method for preparing a syringe including the automated removal, parking, and replacement of a tip cap of the syringe.
Over the years, automated systems have been proposed to prepare batches of syringes that are interconnected in some manner so that the syringes can be fed to another apparatus for further processing of the syringes. In other words, the syringes can be fed in an automated manner to an apparatus that then prepares and delivers prescribed contents (medication) to the syringe. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0020459 discloses an apparatus for handling a plurality of syringe bodies which are interconnected to one another by a belt such that the syringe bodies lie in a predetermined orientation, with a predetermined spacing therebetween. This particular apparatus is configured such that a first tape is fed to a wheel which receives and holds syringe bodies in notches formed therein. The first tape is placed in contact with the syringe bodies so that the syringe bodies contact the adhesive side of the first tape and are therefore adhesively secured thereto. As the wheel rotates, it carries the syringes in contact with the first tape to a position where the syringes come into contact with an adhesive side of a second tape, which is simultaneously being unwound from a roll. In this manner, the first and second tapes get adhered to diametrically opposite sides of the syringes. The syringes are then fed to a press wheel that rotates to press the tape strips to each other between the syringes. The syringes are positioned in the band or belt (i.e., the joined first and second tapes) in a common orientation, i.e., with the luers of all the syringes on the same side of the band. While, this particular apparatus is satisfactory for its intended purpose, the apparatus suffers from a number of deficiencies. For example, the syringe bodies are first adhesively secured to one tape and then brought into contact with another tape before the two tapes are pressed together around the syringe bodies. Thus, because the first and second tapes are fed at different stations and contact the syringe bodies at different times, there is a chance that the first and second tapes can become misaligned resulting in the two tapes not perfectly seating against one another.
Thus, what is needed is an alternative way of handling syringes and more particularly, an apparatus and method of bandoliering syringes using an automated system.